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“Oh, hello, there, gentle viewers. You caught me catching up on an old favorite. It’s wonderful to get lost in a story, isn’t it? Adventure and heroics and discovery — don’t they just take you away? Come with me now, if you will, gentle viewers. Join me on a new voyage of the mind. A little tale I like to call: Buffy, Slayer of the Vampyrs.”

Following the deaths of his allies, Andrew was eventually held hostage by the Scooby Gang, with whom he rallied to defeat the First Evil. After the destruction of Sunnydale, Andrew acted as a Watcher, training newly activated Slayers in Italy for the Slayer Organization. With the end of magic, he moved to San Francisco, and later to Oakland, living in his own house a driving distance away from Buffy and her friends.

Contents

Biography

Sunnydale High

Andrew Wells, the younger brother of Tucker Wells,[2] grew up in Sunnydale. His aunt was his legal guardian.[3] Judging by the state of the Wells’ house, he may have been from a low socioeconomic class.[4] A "nerd," Andrew was the victim of bullying while growing up but became friends with fellow Sunnydale High outcasts, Warren Mears and Jonathan Levinson.[5]

Inspired by his older brother, Andrew learned to summon and control demons and sent a pack of Flying Monkey demons to attack the school’s production of Romeo and Juliet, apparently for no other reason than to amuse himself. His plans were presumably stopped by the Slayer, Buffy Summers, and her demon-fighting friends, the Scooby Gang. Although the Scoobies quickly forgot the incident, Andrew, Warren, and Jonathan went on to remember it fondly.[2] Buffy later foiled Andrew’s brother’s plans when he trained a pack of hellhounds to attack the senior prom because he couldn’t find a date.[4]

The Trio

Andrew: “I summoned the flying monkeys that attacked the high school? During the school play, you know?”

Warren: “It’s Tucker’s brother.”

— Andrew’s high school achievements are not remembered by the Scooby Gang.[src]

Andrew’s demon summoning skills are essential to many of the Trio’s plans.

About two years after Sunnydale High’s destruction, Andrew, Warren, and Jonathan formed the Trio, a supervillain group dedicated to taking over Sunnydale. Together they engaged in petty crimes, such as robbing banks and museums.[2][6] Andrew was a crucial member of the group because many of their endeavors relied upon his ability to summon and control various demons. Since Buffy was the protector of Sunnydale, the Trio secretly tested her abilities to collect information; Andrew’s test involved getting three demons to attack her at her temporary job.[7]

The Trio began to fall apart after they used the Cerebral Dampener on Warren’s ex-girlfriend Katrina Silber, turning her into a willing sex slave; she came to her senses and accused them of rape, so Warren killed her to stop her from leaving. Andrew helped cover up the murder by summoning a trio of Rwasundi demons and was impressed when the Trio got away with it.[8] However, Buffy figured out their involvement and began to investigate their activities further. Andrew set a Glarghk Guhl Kashmas’nik on her to make her experience intense hallucinations.[9]

Warren and Andrew began plotting together against Jonathan, hoping to rob an amusement park and let their friend take the blame. Buffy stopped their plan, although Warren escaped, leaving Andrew to be arrested with Jonathan, who made sure that Andrew knew Warren would not return for them. In his frustration at Buffy, Warren accidentally murdered Tara Maclay.[3] Tara’s girlfriend and powerful witch, the vengeful Willow Rosenberg, hunted Warren down and skinned him alive.[3] She planned a similar fate for Andrew and Jonathan and attacked them at the prison, but they were rescued by the Scooby Gang. Fearful, Andrew suggested fleeing to Mexico before threatening Xander Harris with a sword he acquired to defend himself from Willow. Jonathan, however, pulled his sword towards Andrew and convinced him to accede to his arbitration that they would go to jail after dealing with Willow.

When Willow trapped Buffy and her sister Dawn in a grave. Andrew and Jonathan reintroduced the idea of escaping to Mexico and hitched a ride there from a truck driver.[10][11]

Working for the First

Under the First’s orders, Andrew murders his only friend.

Andrew remained in Mexico for some months, living together in a small shack where they were repeatedly plagued by dreams of the Seal of Danzalthar, a Turok-Han, and Potential Slayers being killed. The First Evil approached Andrew in the guise of Warren and convinced Andrew to open the seal by killing Jonathan with a ritual knife he bought specially from a demon weapon salesman. Though hesitant to kill his only remaining friend, Andrew agreed, as the First promised him that by doing so, the Trio would live as gods.[12]

Andrew returned to Sunnydale along with Jonathan, who was keen on redeeming himself by assisting the Scooby Gang. As they dug up the hidden seal, Andrew murdered Jonathan in an attempt to open the seal.[13] Since it didn’t work, Andrew hesitantly attempted to slaughter a piglet to obtain its blood but he was unable to catch it.

Redemption

“Here’s the thing. I killed my best friend. There’s a big fight coming, and I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t even think I’m going to live through it. That’s, uh, probably the way it should be. I guess I’m…”

Failing in that, Andrew went to a local butcher to buy pigs blood along with many other unrelated items but was soon discovered by Willow who, having reformed, tried to talk to him. A fearful Andrew tried to scare her by claiming to be powerful evil, only for Willow manipulate his fear and take him to Buffy’s house where he was held hostage by the Scooby Gang; the pigs blood he bought was used to feed Spike who was also under the influence of the First. Andrew was interrogated by Xander and Anya Jenkins who used both violence and psychological threats to find out why he was buying blood. Just as Andrew began to give answers, Spike was triggered by the First, making him storm dangerously out of his bonds, break into the room where Andrew was kept and bite him for several seconds before Buffy saved him.[14] For several days, he was kept tied to a chair while the number of potential Slayers rose, with Andrew showing enthusiasm in helping the gang.

Andrew makes himself at home with the Scoobies as their “guestage”.

At first, the Scoobies were openly hostile towards Andrew because he had murdered Jonathan, because of his alliance with Warren, and because of his annoying habits. Nevertheless, Andrew tried to make himself useful around the house by replacing Buffy’s broken microwave,[15] baking, and keeping a "big board" to track the First’s plans.[16] He was contacted by the First a second time in the form of Jonathan who ordered him to kill the Potential Slayers with a gun that was used by Willow when she was stalking Warren.[17]

Unbeknownst to the First, Andrew was used by the Scooby Gang to gather information on the First by wearing a wire when meeting up with him which would allow Willow to hear the conversation on headphones. The First noticed this when he made it too obvious and reminded him of what he did to Jonathan. Andrew then stood up to him, promising to avenge Jonathan’s murder.[15]

Andrew records the Scooby Gang’s adventures from behind his camera.

Eventually, he began documenting the Scoobies’ adventures for future generations using a video camera. Although Xander, Anya, Spike, and Dawn were all happy to let him interview them, Buffy became angered by Andrew’s attempt to turn everything into a story and she forced him to face up to the seriousness of his actions. She took him to Sunnydale High which was currently facing supernatural disturbances caused by the openings of the Seal of Danzalthar. Using the knife he used to kill Jonathan, Buffy made Andrew think his death would be necessary to close the seal. When a saddened Andrew finally accepted responsibility for Jonathan’s murder, his tears of remorse put an end to the chaos caused by the seal.[12]

Using his storytelling talents, Andrew heralds and honors Anya’s death.

Hoping for redemption, Andrew joined the Scoobies in the battle at the Hellmouth where he was certain he would die in battle. Armed with swords, he was partnered with Anya and stationed alongside her at a staircase in Sunnydale High in order to prevent any one of an army of Turok-Han vampires and Harbingers of Death from escaping. As Anya felt nervous, Andrew tried to comfort her with the thought of unicorns, candy canes and bunny rabbits, unintentionally bringing out a burst of fury in her by mentioning the latter. As she bravely fought off their attackers, Andrew barely tried to assault them. He was shocked and confused to survive the brutal fight while Anya died at the hands of a Bringer. At the end of the battle, Andrew confronted Xander over Anya’s death, telling Xander that his former fiancé had died saving his life.[18]

Watcher

“You’re not the only one who’s changed. Mr. Giles has been training me. I’m faster, stronger, and 82% more manly than the last time we—”

Having become a Watcher, Andrew appears before Angel and Spike, a changed man.

Having earned the trust and friendship of the Scooby Gang, Andrew remained with them as they formed a global organization which located and trained the thousands of Slayers recently activated by Willow. He and Violet starred in television recruitment adverts.[19] Andrew received training as a Watcher from Rupert Giles,[20] and was granted his own Slayer squad in Rome.[21]

When Angel encountered a psychotic Slayer named Dana, Andrew was dispatched to the Los Angeles branch of Wolfram & Hart to handle the situation. There he was excited to reunite with Spike, revealing that he had been devastated by Spike’s death and required therapy to get over it.

Dana was eventually taken down by Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, but when Angel tried to take her back to W&H, Andrew asserted that she belonged with the other Slayers. He also informed Angel that the Scooby Gang no longer considered Angel or his team trustworthy due to their takeover of Wolfram & Hart and that he was under direct orders from Buffy herself to bring Dana back with him by any means necessary. Respecting Buffy’s orders, Angel relented and allowed Andrew to leave with Dana.[20]

Months later, when Angel and Spike tried to track Buffy to Rome, they found Andrew instead. Buffy’s true location was now secret and a decoy Slayer had been set up in Rome. Andrew informed the two vampires that Buffy was dating the Immortal, an old rival of theirs, a ruse set up by him because he thought it would be funny.[22]

Andrew playing poker with his Slayer squad.

Rona transferred rebellious Slayer Simone Doffler to Andrew’s squad in Rome, feeling that she would benefit from a less urban setting. Andrew and Simone were not compatible because they disagreed over whether Slayers should use guns.[21] Simone eventually went rogue.[23]

During a mission to Tokyo, Andrew used his knowledge of Japanese monster movies to direct a giant-sized Dawn in a battle against her mecha counterpart, a moment he claimed to have been preparing for his whole life.[24]

When Soledad was activated as a Slayer, Andrew went to recruit her, but she was turned off by Buffy’s pitch.[25]

Outside Milan, Andrew located Nisha, one of Simone’s lieutenants, so he and Buffy went on a mission to retrieve her. They rescued her from the nest of a Ragna demon, which Nisha revealed had been created by Andrew, who, in order to capture Simone, had bred the extinct species back into existence. Buffy and Andrew finally confronted Simone, who demanded a trade: Andrew for the Ragna demon. Simone explained that she wanted revenge on Andrew for his authority and annoying habits, but Buffy refused to give up her friend and Andrew’s Slayer squad showed up to rescue their Watcher. Buffy later forgave Andrew for creating the Ragna, reaffirming that he was a member of the Scooby family.[5]

Andrew, glad to hear from Buffy that he is officially considered a Scooby.

Later, Andrew’s Slayer cell was forced to retreat alongside Buffy’s to Tibet, when Twilight began tracking down the Scoobies through their magic use.[26] Andrew took up his role as documentariam again to study Willow and the Slayers who had to learn to suppress their magic. Andrew was able to correctly deduce that there was a spy in their midst, who turned out to be Amy disguised as a cat.[27]

He assisted in the all-out warfare between Twilight’s armed forces and Buffy’s,[28][29] but became one of Twilight’s captives along with Faith Lehane and Giles.[30] In self-defense, Andrew donned a composite Superhero Armor. When Twilight (Angel) and Buffy ascended to a different dimension, and their home dimension became overrun with extra-dimensional demons, Andrew and Warren, who had been resurrected albeit skinless, squabbled for ownership of the armor. When one of the extra-dimensional demons lunged at them, Andrew pulled Warren behind him and took a deep and potentially fatal wound as a result, leaving Warren to protect him.[31]

San Francisco

After the Twilight crisis was averted, Andrew gathered what remaining Slayers he could and started a disaster relief organization. Months after magic was cut off from this dimension, Andrew attended Buffy’s housewarming party at her new apartment in San Francisco along with the other former Scoobies.[32]

During these events, Spike, having heard of the incoming threat of the Siphon, turned to Andrew for help in protecting Buffy from him. However, Spike never expected Andrew to do what he did: during the housewarming party, Andrew gave Buffy a spiked drink, and when she passed out drunk, Andrew created a new Buffybot using Warren’s notes and technology, proceeding to transfer Buffy’s mind into the Buffybot’s body while sending the real Buffy’s body to live a normal life in Mill Valley.[33]

However, Andrew failed to program the Buffybot with the ability to mimic human functions such as digesting food, menstruating, and maintaining a good balance of Ph in its blood, leading it, still unaware of its nature, to mistakenly believe she was pregnant.[34] However, the truth came out to both her and Spike when her right arm was ripped off in a battle with a nest of zompires.[35]

Buffy and Spike furiously confronted Andrew over what he put the former through, being particularly outraged that he didn’t bother to tell the real Buffy anything. The trio subsequently took Spike's ship to retrieve Buffy’s body, only to discover that it had been captured by Simone. However, Andrew had placed a tracking device on the body, allowing them to follow it. Andrew subsequently apologized to Buffy and admitted that it was a bad plan; Buffy was still irked at Andrew, but softened a bit when he stated he also did so to give Buffy’s body the life she could have had if she had not spent all those years slaying.[36]

Return of magic

Andrew attempts to use the Slayer Handbook to resurrect Tara.

In the following year, after the rules of magic had been wiped clean, Andrew stole the Vampyr book and fled to the Sunnydale crater. The Scoobies, believing him to intend to resurrect Warren, went after him. In reality, however, Andrew intended to use the new rules of magic to resurrect Jonathan and Tara.[37]

This, unfortunately, coincided with the presence of a Soul Glutton demon that began to grow on the force of Tara’s pure resurrected soul. Willow managed to find Andrew, and he revealed that he felt alone in the Buffy gang; he knew the others did not trust him, and he believed that he "deserved it" for having been a part of Tara’s death. By resurrecting Tara, he hoped to put his perceived guilt right and regain the trust of the Scoobies. Willow convinced Andrew to stop the spell, and later she and Buffy apologized for having caused him to feel left out. Buffy procured Andrew’s assurance that he understood why his past actions were wrong and that he would not do it again, and offered him her forgiveness.[38]

Back in his Oakland home, Andrew communicated with a holographic projection of Jonathan’s personality, and expressed his learning about the importance of consent. He asked if this Jonathan would like Andrew to build him a new, robot body — to which Jonathan replied: "Hell yes!"[38]

Andrew’s superhero body.

Some time later, Andrew attended a witch coven party, having been invited by an old demonology student of his, Julie. He had heard of a potion meant to create a new body, but Julie explained the potion likely just made you self-reflect and accept yourself. However, when Andrew drank the potion, the potion gave him a superhero body and the courage to come out as gay.[39] The effects of the potion wore off when its purpose was fulfilled, after Andrew kissed his romantic interest, in front of all the Scoobies.[40] Without the courage imparted to him by the potion, Andrew fled.

Xander and Buffy then went to Andrew’s house to confront him. Xander apologized, believing his overzealous support of Andrew’s coming out had unsettled him, but Andrew admitted he found Xander’s reaction comforting; the realization of his sexual orientation was a big deal to him, but, excepting Xander, none of the Scoobies had expressed any reaction. He then explained the reason he fled was because he believed Clive wouldn’t be interested in him without the altered body the potion gave him. When Buffy pointed out he was falling into the same pattern of running away he’d used for so many years and was resigning himself to "familiar pain" rather than allowing himself a chance of happiness, Andrew argued that he didn’t deserve happiness because of his history of mistakes. Buffy, however, unambiguously told him he deserves happiness and demanded he takes this chance.[41]

Andrew and Clive apparently did not pursue an exclusive relationship, for reasons as of yet unknown. Andrew continued to spend his time trying to find a body for the holographic Jonathan and using Grindr to look for dates. Andrew seemed to be hitting dead ends on the resurrection front until the demon by the name The Sculptor came to Andrew’s house and offered him a deal: a body for Jonathan, in exchange for Andrew stealing Buffy’s scythe. Jonathan pressured Andrew to take the deal, saying it was an opportunity to make up for his past sins. Ultimately, however, Andrew chose to double-cross the Sculptor and stay true to Buffy, although it meant the eventual death of Jonathan’s body without the Sculptor’s magic maintaining it. He argued that the holographic-turned-flesh Jonathan was not the real Jonathan and that stealing from Buffy could not put his past sins right. Furious at what he perceived as a betrayal, Jonathan fled.[42]

After D’Hoffryn was able to take the power of the rest of the Magic Council, he was able to restore Jonathan to a human body, with Jonathan and D’Hoffryn attempting to turn Andrew against the other Scoobies by showing him the private thoughts and doubts of the rest of the group, as well as Clive’s own private thoughts on his inadequacies as a person.[43] Hurt, Andrew planned to move to Mykonos, but not before confronting Clive about what had been said. Clive revealed that, despite expressing the truth, his comments were taken out of context, and asked if Andrew should consider whether whoever showed him that information has his best interests at heart.This convinced Andrew to soon return to the Scooby Gang, who had been just reunited to face and defeat D’Hoffryn.[44]

Some time later, San Francisco suffered a magical attack in form of a tsunami led by the Shenlong dragon. In response to the national state of fear and violence, the government began the creation of the Supernatural Crisis Act, and Andrew was certain that the mob would run out of magic targets and go after the magic practitioners. He informed the Scooby Gang he was going seek refuge in Italy while he could, where he still had friends, and the Scoobies should do the same. They refused, deciding to stay to deal with the crisis, but Andrew promised to look for alternatives to their escape while he was away.[45]

Personality

Andrew was an uncommonly peculiar individual whose mannerisms were considerably irritating to most other people who were very indifferent to his interests. His ceaseless awareness of and attentiveness to popular culture (specifically science fiction) extended far above that of Warren and Jonathan, as Andrew constantly made references to film, television and literature during situations, both normal and serious. This habit further made him an annoyance to the Scooby Gang and also made conversing with them confusing. Once, Dawn questioned if “there’s a language that [he’s] speaking”.[46]

Another defining trait was his tendency to shift from reality to fantasy, dramatizing the Slayer mythology as well as the personal histories, relationships, and developments of the people around him (notably Buffy, Faith, Spike, Willow and Anya). Andrew would present these views in the form of storytelling where the actual details of the events are loosened more theatrically, even characterizing his own past as a story, believing himself to be a “man with a dark past” and exaggerating the effectiveness of his villainy.

Besides being annoying, Andrew was also very immature and gullible. This made him easily manipulated by Warren since he was enticed by the idea of getting away with crime and becoming super villains, thoughtlessly believing Warren could accomplish any goal or deal with any problem without the need for Andrew himself taking responsibility. Because of this, he was easily manipulated by the First in the guise of Warren to kill his only friend, Jonathan, leaving him all alone.

However, when in the confines of the Scooby Gang, Andrew was able to gain responsibility for his actions from positive role models and leaders such Buffy, Spike and Anya, along with other Scoobies that have helped him make the right decisions and gave him confidence in himself, such as standing up to the First[15] and tearfully realizing his misdeeds, allowing him to separate the wonder of his stories from the hardship of the real world.[12]

As a Watcher, his eccentricities remained with him, although he seemed to have matured with the Scoobies having come to tolerate this and Buffy even recognized his role in the group. He still believed in the overemphasis of his talents, regarding himself as an expert watcher and having more courage and toughness than he actually did.

However, he still continued to act against the liking of others, such as creating a new Buffybot and creating a demon which was used as a weapon by Simone, who also despised him because of his habits.

Andrew had a tendency to randomly allege unrelated ailments during stressful situations. When falling face-first to the floor while breaking into Sunnydale High, he followed by claiming to have shin splints. During the battle at the Hellmouth, he was attacked by a Turok-Han, only for him to announce “I have swimmer’s ear!”.

While living in San Francisco, Andrew continued to grow and mature, and apparently dropped bragging and overemphasizing his own talents. He also seemed to stop acting against the Scoobies, and instead began to use his skills to bring unexpected preparation and key tools to the fight against evil (including incredibly nerdy and useful technology, such as multi-spec goggles which could see in darkness and read magic).

Powers and abilities

Much like his brother Tucker, Andrew was proficient in controlling animals and summoning various species of demons often by using musical instruments such as a panpipes and a reedy aboriginal one; because of this, he was usually in charge of deploying demons and creatures against adversaries, given his and his colleagues’ meager fighting skills, though he refrained from using this ability after the end of the Trio.

Additionally, he displayed enough knowledge of genetics to recreate the extinct Ragna demons, and also possessed enough mechanical knowledge to build a second Buffybot based on Warren’s notes and create energy disruptors and frequency jammers in the form of ray guns. He was also semi-fluent in both dead and demon languages.

Aside from his skills with summoning demons, Andrew was trained in the typical Watcher skills and possessed an in-depth knowledge of popular culture.

Relationships

Sexuality

Originally, Andrew was portrayed as ambiguously gay, expressing subtle attraction to various other males but never outright stating his sexual preference while living in Sunnydale. He had fantasized about male actors Scott Bakula,[15]Patrick Swayze,[14] and Viggo Mortensen.[20] Once, surrounded by countless Slayers playing strip poker in their underwear, an oblivious Andrew told Xander that he would be "bored stiff."[47] When Buffy tried to bond with him over a mutual appreciation of Daniel Craig’s swimming trunks, he quickly evaded the topic.[5] Another hint was when he sang along to the Lady Gaga song "Born this Way".[48] When the Scoobies were living in San Francisco, he finally came out by kissing Clive, the leader of a witch coven in Oakland.[40]

Before Andrew’s coming out, there were enough heteronormative behaviors to cast doubt on his having a gay orientation. Andrew was noticeably upset when Warren refused to make him a robot copy of Christina Ricci and stated that Scully from The X-Files “wants [him] so bad.”[7] Andrew also once lectured both Spike and Angel about dating and women and was seen leaving for the evening in James Bond-style attire with two attractive women.[49]

Simultaneously to this however, there were also several indications that he was at least attracted to men. When told to hold hands with Warren he exclaimed disgust. Warren then claimed "we know what homophobia really means". [7] He stated that Spike was "so cool" before backtracking and saying that he also found Anya attractive. [50] When Warren killed a Nezzla demon, Andrew said it was "so hot". [3]

When Andrew attended a party in San Francisco, an old demonology student of his tried to set him up with a man, Clive.[39] Andrew later, after drinking a potion meant to turn one into their “ideal self”, admitted to imagining himself kissing Clive. After he did kiss Clive, he finally confessed to being gay.[40] The main purpose of the spell completed, its other effects instantly wore off.

Romance

Warren Mears — Andrew’s superior in the Trio and apparent idol. Warren exploited Andrew’s loyalty but ultimately left him to be arrested. Feeling betrayed, Andrew cried: “How could he do this to me? He promised we’d be together, but… he was just using me. He never really loved… hanging out with us.”[3] After Warren was flayed by Willow, the First Evil used Warren’s appearance to manipulate Andrew into killing Jonathan.[13] When Willow found herself the victim of a hex which made her look like Warren, Andrew rushed to hug his former friend, accidentally groping Willow’s breasts by mistake.[52] During the battle with extra-terrestrial demons in the Twilight episode, Andrew also got dangerously stabbed in an attempt to protect Warren,[31] and, a year after that, Buffy accused Andrew of “still trying to impress Warren” even after the villain’s death.[53] Conversely, when Andrew returned to Sunnydale in the hopes of resurrecting Jonathan, not only did he not resurrect Warren, but he went so far as to smash the record of Warren’s personality and DNA so that no one else could attempt to do so either.[37]

Andrew kisses Clive.

Clive — Clive was the leader of a witch coven in San Francisco, and Andrew’s main requited romantic interest. Andrew’s interest in Clive was noticed by Julie, one of Andrew’s old demonology students and current witch of Clive’s coven, who attempted to set them up together at a house party. While at first Andrew seemed taken aback by being matchmade with another man, and claimed to “not think about romance”, Andrew then drank a potion intended to turn him into his “perfect self”, at which point he admitted to imagining himself kissing someone like Clive.[39] Clive was impressed when Andrew usefully assisted Buffy in defeating a demon, and Andrew passionately kissed him and admitted he suddenly felt the confidence to be honest with himself about his sexuality. The spell was completed and Andrew reverted back to normal, and now outed to his friends, retreated overwhelmed.[40] When Xander later confronted Andrew about his retreat, Andrew confessed he did not believe that Clive would be interested in him without the altered body the potion gave him.[41] Clive has acknowledged that it is hard for Andrew to “be a person” sometimes, but he feels that “for someone like [Andrew], the sky’s the limit.”[44]

Fake Geek Boy — One of Andrew’s potential dates on Grindr. Holo-Jonathan infiltrated Fake Geek Boy’s hard drive prior to Andrew’s date and revealed that he only cosplayed to get with guys and had never so much as read a Nightwing comic. Andrew promptly called off the date, even while chastising Jonathan for the violation of privacy.[42]

Brian — Brian was one of Andrew’s dates. He expressed disbelief and contempt that it had taken Andrew so long to realize he was gay, to which Clive told him off for failing to recognize not all gay men experienced the same background Brian had in San Francisco.[35]

Friendship

Andrew and Jonathan.

Jonathan Levinson — Andrew’s best friend, the pair shared a bed while on the run in Mexico, and Andrew commented on Jonathan’s built up body. While reflecting on his time in the Trio, Andrew said “wasn’t he [Jonathan] just the cutest thing?”[12]

Alexander Harris — Despite their previous clashes when Andrew was with the Trio, Andrew and Xander eventually developed a nerdy camaraderie due to their mutual love of science fiction and comic books. Andrew once ignored Willow and Kennedy making out to appreciate Xander’s work on the windows, and thoughtfully described him as “extraordinary”. He later watched an interview he had recorded with Xander and Anya, mimicking Anya’s “lines” as though he was talking to Xander.[12] Xander, while initially dismissing Andrew as “annoying”, became fond of him over time, sending him an mbuna fish as a present when Xander was supposedly in Africa.[20] While training his Slayers in Italy, Andrew remained in frequent contact with the Scotland-based Xander.[47]

Anya and Andrew have a “wheelchair fight”.

Anya Jenkins — Andrew developed an odd friendship with Anya, who he described as “the perfect woman”, a statement which Anya very much agreed with.[54] In his video diary, Andrew introduced her as “a feisty waif with a fiery temper and a vulnerable heart that she hides, even from herself”.[12] When Anya died, Andrew finally put his talent for storytelling and creative embellishment to good use. In his treatment of Anya’s final moments to Anya’s ex, Xander, she died a true, self-sacrificing hero, saving Andrew’s life. He was also the person to avenge her death, killing the Bringer that killed her, but concluded his story on Anya’s sacrifice.[18]

Andrew rides on Spike’s motorcycle.

Spike — Spike and Andrew became friends during a mission to find out more about Caleb.[55] Interestingly, the two of them started off as part of the Scoobies in rather similar circumstances: they were former adversaries who were forced as hostages by the gang for some time before eventually renouncing their evil ways. Spike was either oblivious or indifferent to Andrew’s apparent crush on him, and surprisingly tolerant of his annoying habits. When the Trio’s secret cameras revealed Spike getting physically intimate with Anya in The Magic Box, Andrew said that Spike was “so cool”, before hurriedly adding, “the girl’s hot, too”.[56] While recording the Scoobies on his video camera, Andrew envisioned a bare-chested Spike in a romance novel type pose with Buffy; later, Spike showed interest in Andrew’s interviews and willingly played along.[12] Andrew was devastated by Spike’s death at the Hellmouth, and was delighted to find him alive and well in Los Angeles, tearfully comparing his resurrection to that of Gandalf’s from The Lord of the Rings. Andrew once commented that Spike’s senses were “as well honed as his Viggo Mortensen pectorals”.[20] Spike held some affection for Andrew, tolerating several hugs from him and, upon learning how he had stood up to Angel, remarked that there was “hope for the little ponce yet”. However, their friendship became strained when Spike found out that Andrew had replaced Buffy with a robot copy. Spike was infuriated at Andrew for his carelessness, and even went so far as offering to kill him if Buffy asked him to.[33] Despite this mishap, Spike still trusted Andrew enough to let him restore Buffy’s mind (in the Buffybot) into her real body.[53]

Gallery

Behind the scenes

Andrew has appeared in 28 Buffyverse episodes. He appeared in 11 episodes in season six of Buffy and 15 in the seventh season. Tom Lenk also made two “Special Guest Star” appearances in Angel season five, in episodes "Damage" and "The Girl in Question". Additionally, since "Never Leave Me", Andrew consistently appeared in the remaining episodes of Buffy.

In January 2008, gay men’s website AfterElton.com awarded Andrew the status as the tenth best gay or bisexual character in modern science fiction, despite commenting upon the textual ambiguity of Andrew’s sexual orientation.[57]

In an interview with The Advocate magazine, Joss Whedon confirmed Andrew’s hinted homosexuality, stating that it was inspired by actor Tom Lenk: “Tom has a bit of a fey thing going on in his persona that, you know, you can’t really deny. When I first looked at his audition tape, I said ‘OK, he, uh, he seems kinda gay. Do we want to make that decision [about the character]? There’s no reason why he couldn’t be, so, great, let’s pick the funniest actor.’ […] The character became very charming in his complete lack of awareness about, among other things, his own sexuality.”[58]

Discussing Andrew’s moment in "Chosen", where he tells Xander that Anya saved his life, Joss Whedon says: “The thing that [Andrew] is sort of reviled for, making up stories, becomes the thing that he helps Xander with. Becomes the thing that he actually is good at, giving her the epic death she didn’t actually get to have.”[59]

Joss Whedon later indicated in interviews that, had the show continued for another season, Lenk would probably have been promoted to main cast status.

A recurring gag throughout all of season six and early season seven is that the Scooby Gang are completely unable to recall Andrew’s name, often referring to him as “Tucker’s brother”,[60][14] “what’s-his-name”,[14] “what’s-his-face”,[10] and “the other guy”.[10] Though this gag seemingly ends by the time of "Storyteller", it is revisited when Angel[30] then D’Hoffryn[61] have trouble remembering him. Oddly enough, even characters who never actually met Tucker, such as Tara and Spike, recognize him when he is identified as Tucker’s brother.